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Focus Area: Community Well-Being

Overview

GKFF works to improve the quality of life for Tulsa families by investing in health, safety, and justice. This focus area supports community health and wellness, strengthens social safety nets, reduces domestic violence, and advances criminal justice reform to create safer and more equitable communities.

Data Sources

The KPIs in this focus area draw from national datasets such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Justice Statistics, and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), along with state and local agencies including the Oklahoma State Department of Health and Tulsa County Jail. Some indicators rely on GKFF-supported program data. Most health and justice measures update annually, while certain local datasets refresh more frequently depending on availability.

Criminal Justice Reform

GKFF invests in programs that provide cost-effective solutions to public safety, promote true rehabilitation, and improve the lives of young children and their families in Tulsa.

Note: KPI metadata and data sourcing for Criminal Justice Reform are currently being finalized. Definitions are provided here, and detailed sourcing and refresh dates will be added once integration is complete.

Key Performance Indicators

  • Average Daily Population in Jail: The average number of individuals held in jail per day over a 12-month period.
  • Average Length of Stays in Jail: The average number of days individuals spend in jail per booking.
  • Jail Bookings: The total number of jail admissions or bookings within a year.
  • Jail Releases: The total number of individuals released from jail within a year.
  • Imprisonment Rate: The number of individuals imprisoned per 100,000 residents.
  • Prison Receptions: The number of individuals admitted to federal prison in a given year (including both new commitments and returns), per 100,000 residents.
  • Average Length of Stays in Prison: The average number of days individuals spend in prison per sentence.
  • Average Daily Population in Prison: The average number of individuals held in prison per day over a 12-month period.
  • Prison Releases: The number of individuals released from prison in a given year.
  • Homicide Rate: Annual homicide rate per 100,000 population.
    • Source: Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation.
    • Refresh Date: September 2025
    • Note: For agencies that reported zero homicides across all “crimes against persons,” data were treated as non-reporting and excluded from aggregated totals.”

Domestic Violence Reduction

Domestic violence incidents have profound effects on children and their families. GKFF supports Tulsa-based service providers that use evidence-driven approaches to reduce domestic violence and strengthen family stability.

Key Performance Indicators

  • Domestic Violence Incidents: The number of reported domestic violence incidents per 100,000 residents.
    • Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
    • Refresh Date: December 2024
    • Note: Data for 2019 and 2020 were not reported due to incomplete submissions from local law enforcement agencies during the FBI’s transition from the Summary Reporting System (SRS) to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Many agencies nationwide did not fully participate or complete the transition during this period, resulting in missing or incomplete data for those years.
  • Domestic Violence-Related Homicide Rate: The number of deaths resulting from domestic violence per 100,000 residents.
    • Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
    • Refresh Date: December 2024
    • Note: Data for 2019 and 2020 were not reported due to incomplete submissions from local law enforcement agencies during the FBI’s transition from the Summary Reporting System (SRS) to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Many agencies nationwide did not fully participate or complete the transition during this period, resulting in missing or incomplete data for those years.

Healthy Communities

Reducing health disparities and improving access to care for uninsured, underinsured, and less advantaged communities is critical to maintaining a strong quality of life. GKFF supports initiatives that expand healthcare access and improve community health outcomes.

Key Performance Indicators

  • Clinician Workforce: Doctors: The number of actively licensed medical doctors per 100,000 residents.
    • Source: Health Resources and Services Administration, Area Health Resources Files and U.S. Census Bureau County Population Estimates.
    • Refresh Date: November 2024
  • Nursing Workforce Retention: The number of registered nurses and licensed practical nurses who are actively employed in the workforce per 1,000 residents.
    • Source: National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN).
    • Refresh Date: October 2025
    • Note: Data for 2021 are unavailable because the NCSBN did not publish workforce data for that year.
  • Federally Qualified Health Centers and Look-Alikes: The number of FQHCs and Look-Alike health centers operating per 100,000 residents.
    • Source: Health Resources and Services Administration, Health Center Program Uniform Data System.
    • Refresh Date: January 2025
  • Medically Underserved Areas and Populations: The percentage of residents in a county who live in federally designated Medically Underserved Areas or Populations.
    • Source: Health Resources and Services Administration, Area Health Resources Files and U.S. Census Bureau County Population Estimates.
    • Refresh Date: October 2025
  • Health Insurance Coverage: The percentage of individuals covered by any form of health insurance.
    • Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Health Insurance Estimates and American Community Survey (ACS), 1-Year Estimates.
    • Refresh Date: .S. Census Bureau, Small Area Health Insurance Estimates and American Community Survey (ACS), 1-Year Estimates.
    • Note: July 2025
  • Medicaid Enrollment: The percentage of eligible individuals enrolled in Medicaid and SoonerCare programs through BEST and Educare programs.
    • Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Health Insurance Estimates.
    • Refresh Date: July 2025
    • Note: Data were provided by the George Kaiser Family Foundation for Tulsa County only. The numerator for this metric combines enrollment from the BEST and Educare programs. GKFF did not report enrollment data for the BEST program for 2019–2021, resulting in low reported percentages (below two percent) for 2020 and 2021.
  • Healthcare Cost Per Capita: The average per capita Medicare payment for the Medicare fee-for-service population.
    • Source: Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Medicare Geographic Variation.
    • Refresh Date: April 2025
    • Note: Per capita Medicare spending from CMS Geographic Variation data provides a consistent, standardized indicator of regional variation in health care spending across the United States, recognizing that Medicare reflects an older population and regulated reimbursement rates.
  • Households with Healthcare Debt: The percentage of households reporting unsecured medical debt.
    • Source: Urban Institute: Debt in America
    • Refresh Date: September 2024
    • Note: Data for 2020 were not reported in the Urban Institute’s Debt in America dataset due to a pause in credit bureau data updates from Equifax during the early COVID-19 pandemic period.
  • Life Expectancy: The estimated average number of years a person is expected to live.
    • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics.
    • Refresh Date: December 2024

Maternal & Child Wellness

A mother’s health before and during pregnancy is the strongest predictor of a newborn’s health. Maternal and child health programs provide Tulsa families with the care and resources essential for a healthy start.

Key Performance Indicators

  • Access to Family Planning: The percentage of eligible women enrolled in family planning services, such as those offered through Medicaid waiver programs.
  • Birth Spacing: The percentage of all live births that occur less than 18 months after a mother’s previous live birth.
    • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics System, Natality on CDC WONDER Online Database.
    • Refresh Date: August 2025
  • Full-Term Births: The percentage of all births occurring at 39 weeks gestation or later.
    • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics System, Natality on CDC WONDER Online Database.
    • Refresh Date: August 2025
  • Healthy Birth Weight: The percentage of all infants born weighing more than 2,500 grams.
    • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics System, Natality on CDC WONDER Online Database.
    • Refresh Date: August 2025
  • Teen Birth Rate: The rate of live births to mothers under age 20, including both first and subsequent births, per 1,000 females aged 15–19.
    • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 1-Year Estimates.
    • Refresh Date: July 2024
  • General Infant Mortality: The number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births, regardless of cause.
    • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics System, Linked Birth / Infant Deaths on CDC WONDER Online Database.
    • Refresh Date: June 2025
  • Infant Mortality Related to Safe Sleep: The number of infant deaths attributed to unsafe sleep environments per 1,000 live births.
    • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics System, Linked Birth / Infant Deaths on CDC WONDER Online Database.
    • Refresh Date: June 2025
  • Maternal Mortality: The number of maternal deaths due to pregnancy-related causes per 100,000 live births.
    • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Vital Statistic, Mortality Statistics Branch.
    • Refresh Date: June 2025
    • Note: The period 2020–2021 saw significant pandemic disruption (COVID infection, delayed care, broader health system stress) and many researchers attribute part of the increase in maternal mortality to those broader effects. The JAMA Pediatrics report (doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.0440) says outcomes worsened 2020–22 for most demographic groups.

Safety Net & Human Services

GKFF partners with local nonprofits to address the critical needs of Tulsa families by providing essential services such as food, shelter, and healthcare.

Key Performance Indicators

  • Medicaid Enrollment: The percentage of eligible individuals enrolled in Medicaid and SoonerCare programs through BEST and Educare programs.
    • Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Health Insurance Estimates.
    • Refresh Date: July 2025
    • Note: Data were provided by the George Kaiser Family Foundation for Tulsa County only. Medicaid enrollment data were not available through BEST and Educare programs for 2019–2021, resulting in low reported percentages (below two percent) for 2020 and 2021.